


Winter + Troll vs Dini

by writingandcoe



Series: The Swindon Files [2]
Category: The Dresden Files - All Media Types, The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher, The Dresden Files Roleplaying Game
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dresden Files Fusion, Dresden Files Style Sidhe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 08:18:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13947525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingandcoe/pseuds/writingandcoe
Summary: Dini Richardson was a small-town journalist in Swindon, covering petty crimes and road rage - until she got herself mixed up in the supernatural world and fought a bunch of Red Court vampires. Now, she's investigating more cases...and the supernatural world is taking an interest in her.In this case, though, it's not exactly her fault when a Winter Emissary comes to visit and brings an unexpected guest with him.





	Winter + Troll vs Dini

**Author's Note:**

> So, Kindred is a Winter Emissary who the group met on an earlier casefile. He is, frankly, a complete and utter git - for anyone that knows the Dresden universe, he suits Winter quite well. Dini hates him. He rather likes her. It makes for a very fun character pairing to play off!

What is it about Wednesdays that bring trouble and chaos to my door?

It's sometime after 8pm, and I've almost finished drying up after my solitary dinner when there's a frantic knocking at my door that almost makes me drop a plate, and sends me sprinting down the hall. That much noise means major trouble.

Yanking the door open on the chain reveals Kindred, one side of his head bloody, staring frantically down the street as if demons from hell are after him. "Dini! Any chance of help?"

I slam the door on him, pull the chain off, and throw it open again. "What-"

"I pissed off a troll and it's after me. Please, I'll owe you-"

His leg's bloody, and he can barely stand - he's clinging to the doorframe with one hand and clutching his side with the other. I only hesitate for an instant. "Kindred, you are invited into my home-"

I've barely got the words out before he tumbles over the threshold and ends up as a moaning heap. I shut the door, chain it, and kneel next to the Winter Emissary. "Is it following you?"

"If it's not outside your door, unlikely." At least pain doesn't dull his sarcastic streak. "I think I lost it in the centre." he adds.

"All right. Can you stand?"

He hauls himself up using the wall and my shoulder. "You're stronger than you look, dollface," he says as we make our way down the hall. The gritted teeth rather take the edge off the cute name.

"Practise," I mutter, and manoeuvre him over to a kitchen chair. "So what did you do to this troll?"

He almost collapses into the chair, his lanky frame making it look tiny. "Uh, it's a long story-"

"Shorten it," I say flatly. "And get your shirt off, I want to see your side."

"Well, since you ask so nicely..." The smirk accompanying the words is rather marred by the wince of pain as he tugs his t-shirt up and over his head.

I grab a bowl of water and a cloth, and bring it back over to start cleaning his head. "Story. Now."

"I didn't pay the toll."

"Toll?"

He gives me the raised-eyebrow, sarcastic look that Kindred's so good at. "Troll bridge? You pay or you get et?"

"Why didn't you just pay?"

"I didn't want to."

"And you got beaten up by a troll for that?"

"I might have been slightly sarcastic to it as well."

I roll my eyes. "So you're telling me that you deserved everything you got."

"I didn't deserve to be punched," Kindred says, sounding aggrieved.

"What did you say to this troll?"

"Uh, I possibly insulted the Summer Queen a little?"

I give him a long, flat look.

"The leg was when I fell over coming here," he mutters. I bend, and carefully roll up his jeans. I hear his breath hiss through his teeth as I clean the blood off his leg, but it looks like that's just a long graze and a bad bruise. The cuts on his head were fairly deep but not too bad, and they're starting to scab over. His side's worst, a mass of bruises and what I think is a broken rib or three. "What did that?" I ask as I trace the lines of his ribs, trying to work out if they are broken or just swelling.

"Troll fist." He winces as my fingers hit a bruise. "Ow."

"You're an idiot."

"A lot of people tell me the same thing."

"Maybe you should start listening to them?"

He shrugs. "Eh, that'd be boring."

There's a hammering on the door, which makes me jump, and Kindred looks up with a panicked expression. "Shit."

"Could it have followed you?" I ask, standing up and grabbing my gun from the kitchen drawer.

"I was bleeding!" Kindred says defensively. There's another, heavier knocking as I tuck the gun into the back of my jeans and head down the hallway. "Look, you're protected by the threshold, and I can-"

I am just about to open the door as the knocking comes again, shaking the door in its frame. My patience snaps. I fling the chain off and the door open. "All right! What?" I snap at the troll outside.

It's over eight feet tall, filling the doorway, and I recognise it as a Summer troll - it's got the wettish green skin and emerald eyes of one of Titania's creatures. It obviously recognises me, too; it pauses, and then bows its head to me. "Envoy. You have one that I seek in your home."

"Yes," I snap. "And?"

"I want him." That comes out as a snarl, and it's all I can do to not step back. The Summer trolls that I've met have been sedate, quiet creatures - whatever Kindred did to piss this one off, it really worked.

My stomach's a knot of fear and nerves, but I push it all down. "Why?"

"He has wronged me." Teeth bare and huge fists clench. "And I will take-"

The spit and snarl of that word has my gun out in an instant, aimed straight at the creature's chest as it begins to lunge towards the door. [The gun was gained in an earlier casefile, when Dini started hanging around Faeries and realised she might need something a little more special to work with. ] "Iron bullets," I say levelly. "Calm down. Talk. To. Me." It's still flexing its fists and snarling faintly, but at least it isn't trying to get into the house. "Now. Kindred is my guest," I say, lowering my gun. "Do you want to speak to him?"

I hear Kindred's sarcastic "No!" at the same time as the troll growls, "Yes."

"What should I call you?"

The troll blinks at me. "Um. Skeli."

"Skeli, I invite you into my home as my guest."

"What?" Kindred says incredulously from behind me. I spin.

"You're here under guest-rights, Winter Boy! You'll be polite and you'll sit down, and we're going to resolve this right now. If you don't like it then you can take this back out onto the street and get some more bruises!"

He's got an "I-can't-believe-you're-doing-this" look on his face, but as the troll bends to enter the doorframe, I noticed discoloured patches on its skin, seeping green. It obviously didn't come off too well from the battle either.

I shut the door behind it, and then edge round it, glad that my hallway is fairly wide. "This way," I say to Skeli, and lead the way down the hall.

Kindred's retreated to the stools in the kitchen, and I gesture for the troll to sit on one of the sofas, hoping that it will cope with the weight. The furniture creaks faintly, but does hold.

"Can I offer you a drink?" I ask it.

"I thank you."

"What the hell do you think-" Kindred hisses at me as I pick up the kettle to fill it with water.

I turn and meet his angry expression with a flat, cold stare. "Winter Emissary, you will sit down, and you will drink with us. If you do not want to accept my hospitality, you may leave. Do you understand me?"

Something flashes across his face, and then he inclines his head, and limps over to the other sofa. He's still got no shirt on, and the cuts on his head are slowly seeping blood into his white-streaked hair. But then the troll's cuts are scabbing over, leaving raised weals on its shoulders and arms. I'm not sure who is in worse shape.

They sit in silence as I make tea, and carry the three mugs round. I place one in front of Kindred, one in front of Skeli, and sit myself down on my footstool with the third one, forming the third side of a square between them. "Now," I say into the chilly silence. "Skeli, would you like to tell me what the dispute is?"

"The Winter scum-" the troll starts in a fierce growl.

I hold up a hand. "Be polite, please. I know he's a bastard, but at least be nice while he's sitting here."

The troll growls, but then nods. "The Winter Emissary failed to pay the agreed toll on the bridge. He insulted the Queen and Lady. He insulted my heritage. He challenged me to a fight and then ran away."

I turn to Kindred, who's casually drinking tea. "Well, I know the first parts are true, because you told me yourself. What's the protocol for fights?"

"He should have fought to the death," the troll snarls.

"That didn't sound like a lot of fun," Kindred snaps back sarcastically.

"Then you should not offer a challenge!"

I hold up a hand again, somehow stopping them mid-snarl. "Hold on. So Kindred offered a challenge, which was accepted, and then the fight isn't finished? It's over when one of you dies?"

"This is correct," Skeli growls.

I pick my tea up, and curl my palms around the warm china, enjoying the brief moment of homeliness. "I see three disputes. Kindred, on what grounds are you refusing to pay the toll?"

"I am a Winter subject," Kindred says flatly, "and do not pay toll to the Summer Court."

"Then don't go over that Bridge," I tell him, equally flatly. "If it has been negotiated between the Courts, you have no right to refuse it. Pay it."

"You have no right-" Kindred growls.

I can almost feel the power radiating off him. I have to focus on the warmth of the china in my hands to stop them shaking in fear, but I keep my voice absolutely level. "If you do not accept this, I'll strip you of your guest-rights while you sit here." He looks a bit startled - I know he'd lose his power as he's past a threshold. "And I'll revoke my protection. You don't deserve it!"

Kindred glares at me, and I glare back; the tension swells and I see something rising in his eyes. But then, with an effort, he flicks his gaze down and says, "All right. Because you've asked."

"I'm not done," I tell him shortly. "Apologise for the insults to the Queen and Lady, and Skeli's heritage."

He looks up, glaring again. But I win that one too, somehow, and he looks over at the troll. "Skeli. I apologise for my words against you, the Summer Queen, and the Summer Lady."

I turn back to Skeli, who has picked up the mug of tea, and is carefully sipping it. It looks like a child's toy, clasped between two of the troll's huge fingers. "Skeli, I would ask you - as a favour to myself - to suspend your challenge with the Winter Emissary until a date that I choose. Will you do this?"

Skeli gives me a long stare, and for a nerve-wracking moment I wonder if it's going to refuse...and then the troll nods. "I will, Envoy."

I turn to Kindred. "Winter Emissary, will you accept this?"

He's staring at me, as if he hadn't thought of deferring a challenge. "Uh. Yeah, I guess."

"Good. Pay up."

"I don't have any money," he says sullenly.

"How much was the toll?" I ask Skeli. "I'll pay it."

"From Winter, a bag of gold. From Summer, Envoy, it is whatever you choose to give."

I stand, and put my mug down on the table. Then I lean forward and lightly kiss the troll on the cheek. Its skin is slightly rough, almost sandy, and dry despite the wettish look. "Is that payment enough?"

Skeli nods, and places the mug on the table. "From you, Envoy, that is more than enough. I will take my leave now." The troll stands, its head almost brushing the ceiling, and turns to Kindred. "I look forward to the conclusion of our challenge when the Envoy requests it."

"Bring it on," Kindred almost snarls from his sofa.

I glare at him, and follow the troll down the hallway. When we reach the door, it looks down at me. "I thank you for your hospitality, Envoy, and for your wisdom. But I would like to conclude my business with the Winter Emissary soon."

Bugger, there goes my hope of just putting it off indefinitely. "I will arrange something, Skeli."

The troll nods, and stoops to get under the doorframe. For an instant it fills the street outside, and then it's gone.

I shut the door behind the troll, and sigh. One problem dealt with.

When I turn back from showing the troll out of the front door, Kindred's standing at the end of the hallway, half-leaning on the doorframe and staring at me incredulously. "What did you do all that for?" he demands.

I glare back. "You insulted a troll, deliberately riled it up, and then ran to me for protection?" I'm suddenly furious. "You thought that I'd just sit back and protect you without worrying about whether you deserved it? You really thought I'd be that stupid over you?"

"It was chasing me! This was the only place I could think of!"

"You could have run to Winter! You could have hidden - I know you can do glamours! You didn't have to put me in danger and risk my reputation and my honour for the sake of your own stupid ego!"

"You protect people!"

"Not from their own stupid decisions! If it had wanted to flatten you, I would have stood back and let it!"

"You should have! I could have taken it!"

"Your bruises say otherwise," I snarl.

He's staring down the hall at me, and the look coming across his face is one that I recognise. "Fuck," he says quietly, almost in awe. "I don't think I've ever been so turned on in my life."

"You get off on trolls?" I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, and my hands are shaking.

"Power, Dini. Power. You just stood up to a troll and to me. I really want you."

"You're under guest rights," I say levelly, keeping my hands in sight. My gun is still tucked in my jeans, and I don't really want to have to draw it. "I am not giving you permission."

"I know." I can hear the strain in his voice. "I want to. I won't." His fists are clenched and sweat's beading his forehead, but his eyes are fixed on me and he hasn't moved. 

"Do I need to draw on you?"

"No. It makes things easier if you're not threatening me," the man says, managing the ghost of a smile, and I see a little of the tension go out of him. "It's a horrible thing. Where did you get it?"

"Cornetti." I can still see the need in him, the desire, but he seems to be regaining control. "Do you want tea?"

"Is that your answer to everything?" He manages a grin and relaxes a bit more, looking more human. "It's all right. It's locked up again now."

I hesitate, and then walk down the hall towards him. He retreats as I get closer, heading back into the kitchen, and sits down on one of the bar stools. I silently gather up the three mugs, and take them over to the sink.

I can feel the Winter Emissary's eyes on me as I wash up, and as I place the mugs on the draining board, he says, "I owe you for the toll payment. That's a debt of honour."

"You owe me a bag of gold," I laugh, picking up the tea towel.

"No." He smirks. "I owe what you paid."

"Oh, great." I roll my eyes and pick up a mug to dry. "After that little showdown, the last thing I want is you to kiss me. Just forget it."

"I told you. I can't. It's an honour debt." He stands, and limps round the counter. I've got both of my hands full but I think my wariness must show on my face, as he stops a foot away from me. "It's all right. It's away." He leans forward, and lightly kisses my cheek. He smells of cold, of ice on a frosty morning, of musk and sweat. "There, one debt paid."

"One debt?"

He turns and walks back round to the stool. "I owe you for your protection. I would have owed you anyway, but I'd thought of a way to pay that." He sits back down and smirks at me.

"You do that without express permission," I say flatly, "and I will put a bullet through you."

"All right, you don't have to be quite so militant about it."

"I've been on the receiving end of that look. I'd rather shoot before than after."

He swallows. "It's that bad?"

"What? Rape, or the way you looked?"

"The way I looked."

"It's pretty bad. But...it looked almost like something else taking control."

He shrugs. "It is. Winter. It's passion, but...cold. Greedy. It just wants to take, and own, and destroy." He looks up at me. "You're mortal. You're tiny and human and fragile. I could take you, if I wanted-" and then he looks away.

I swallow. "You're still human."

"Yeah. I have to keep reminding myself of that."

I put the last mug away and come to sit down on the stool opposite him. "You can come here, if you want to be human. I can remind you when you forget."

That gets a genuine smile. "Thanks." Then the smile fades. "I'm not sure the Court will let me. They don't like me remembering that I'm human rather than their toy."

He's got his hands clasped on the counter in front of him, and I wrap mine on top of his. "We'll work something out. The offer stands."

He leans across the counter and kisses me gently, briefly. "You're a good friend."

"I won't be if you keep presuming on my protection against whatever you've pissed off."

"I said I'll pay for that."

"Just don't do it again."

"That's all you're asking? I can do better than that." That has a Kindred smirk.

I laugh, and take my hands off his. "I'm sure you can, but I don't want it. Don't abuse my home again."

"I could abuse other things?" It's said lightly enough that I can't take offence.

"Still no. Anyway, I think you've been abused enough for one day. When's your curfew?"

He shrugs. "I haven't been summoned yet, so probably tomorrow."

"You can have the sofa, then. I'm going to bed."

He pouts, but takes it without any other complaints.

And when I wake in the morning, he's already gone.


End file.
